Annealing furnace



July 2, 1935. H. A. STAPLES 2,007,009

ANNEALING FURNACE Filed Aug. 23, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR H!HORACE A. STAPLES ATTORN EY y 1935. H. A. STAPLES 0 9 ANNEALING FURNACEFiled Aug. 23, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HO ACE A. STAPLES PatentedJuly 2, 1935 PATENT OFFICE ANNEALING FURNACE Horace A. Staples,Plainfield, N. J., assignor to Phelps Dodge Copper Products Corporation,New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 23,

5 Claims.

My invention relates to annealing furnaces, more particularly tofurnaces for the continuous bright annealing of metals, and has for itsobject to produce a furnace of improved construc- 5 tion with compactdesign, but having long length of travel in both the heating andcooling, eveness of heating and convenience in loading and unloading.

In my furnace the articles to be annealed are 10 placed in pans ortrays, introduced through a gas or water seal into the bottom of aheating chamber, caused to travel upwards to the top of the heatingchamber on a helical ramp and thence through a transfer chamber to thetop of a cooling chamber, then downwards on a helical ramp to the bottomof the cooling chamber, where they are discharged through a gas or waterseal, the pans being returned to the starting point by a conveyor. Isecure the travel of the pans through the heating and cooling chambersby the engagement of ribs on rotating cylinders with the pans, therebydragging the pans through the chambers on the helical ramps. It isunderstood, of course, that I maintain a suitable atmosphere in thechambers and provide means for heating and cooling. For most classes ofwork I shall seal the inlet and discharge openings by gas looks, but forwork in which tarnish by water stains is not objectionable, I may use awater seal.

By this construction, I am able to condense a long length of travel intosmall floor space, and to load and unload the material at one point,thereby conserving labor.

I also secure gradual heating and cooling of the articles, which is ofgreat advantage in annealing wire of the finer gages on spools.

The foregoing and other features of my invention will now be describedin connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification in which I have represented my annealing furnace in apreferred form, after which I shall point out in the claims thosefeatures which I believe to be new and of my own invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation in part section of my annealing furnace.

Figure 2 is a top view of same.

In carrying out my invention I employ a heating chamber I and a coolingchamber 20, each provided with spiral ramps II and 2I. In the center ofeach of these chambers I provide a cylinder I2 and 22, adapted torevolve in bearings I3 and 23 respectively. Upon the cylindrical surfaceof these revolving cylinders I provide ribs I4 and 24 suitably formedand spaced to engage the 1934, Serial No. 741,026

side 3| of the traveling trays 30. These trays are provided withsuitable rollers or casters 32 which run on the specially constructedramps I I and 2 I.

The cylinders I2 and 22 are driven by any suitable combination ofgearing 40 provided in its train with a slip friction coupling M whichwill prevent jamming in the event of sticking of trays upon the ramp.

The entrance to the heating chamber I0 is indicated at I5 and thedischarge from the cooling chamber 20 is indicated at 25 and areconnected by a conveyor 56 which conveys the cars to the loadingplatform 51.

In Figure 2, the tray 35 is indicated at the loading platform ready toenter the heating chamber I0 through the gland I5 which is an openingsealed against ingress of air by either a water seal or gas lock of anywell known design.

The tops of the chambers ID and 20 are connected by a, passageway ortransfer chamber 60 and the rotating cylinders are sealed top and bottomby liquid seals 6 I.

The heating chamber I9 is provided with suitable heating coils I6 underthe ramp II and side of chamber I 0. In the cooling chamber 20 I mayprovide suitable refrigeration pipes 26 under the ramp 2| but instead ofthese cooling pipes I may cool by water spray or cool air from inside ofthe rotating drum 22.

It is understood that I maintain a suitable nonoxidizing atmosphere inthe heating and cooling chambers and that the heating chamber isinsulated against heat transference as shown at I 9 and the joints maybe liquid sealed to prevent leakage, as at I0.

From the above disclosure it will be apparent that the operation isquite simple. The tray 30 is loaded with the metal to be annealed and ispassed through the entrance gland I5 where the vertical ribs I4 on theside of the revolving cylinder I2 engages the projection 3| of the trayprovided for the purpose and the tray is conveyed along the spiral rampto the top of the heating chamber, through a uniform heat, provided bythe heating coils I6.

The tray then travels by gravity or by being pushed by the nextsucceeding tray across the transfer chamber 60 and into the coolingchamber where the vertical ribs 24 of the revolving cylinder 20 engagesthe projection 3| of the tray and thereby conveys the tray 30 down theramp 2I to the discharge gland 25. After the tray 30 passes through thisgland 25 it is picked up by conveyor 56 and brought to the place ofbeginning where the finished bright annealed metal is replaced by a newbatch of metal to be annealed and the operation is repeated.

I wish it distinctly understood that my annealing furnace hereindescribed and illustrated is in the preferred form in which I desire toconstruct it and that changes or variations may be made as may beconvenient or desirable without departing from the salient features ofmy invention and I therefore intend the following claims to cover suchmodifications as naturally fall within the lines of invention.

I claim 1. An annealing furnace, in combination a heating chamber, avertical drum adapted to rotate within the chamber, spiral ramp withinthe chamber and surrounding the rotating drum, a cooling chamber, avertical drum adapted to rotate within the chamber, spiral ramp withinthe chamber and surrounding the drum, a transfer chamber connecting theheating chamber with the cooling chamber, a tray adapted to ride on thespiral ramps and provided with a projecting side, means on the rotatingdrums to engage the projecting side of the tray and convey the trayalong the ramps, means to heat the heating chamber, means to cool thecooling chamber.

2. In an annealing'furnace a spiral ramp, a rotating drum, a container,means whereby the rotating drum engages the container and propels italong the ramp.

3. The device of claim 2 where the spiral ramps surround the rotatingdrum.

4. The device of claim 1 with the additional means for sealing theentrance and discharge glands against ingress of air.

5. The'device of claim 1 with the moving top ingress of air by liquidseals.

' and bottom edges of rotating drums sealed against 7 HORACE A. STAPLES.20

